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Archaeological data from Bulgaria relating to ancient sea level in the Black Sea

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 INQUA 501- IGe l' 521 Sixth Plenary Meeting and Field Trip, Rhodes, Greece, 27 September - 5 October 2010

Archaeological data from Bulgaria relating to ancient sea level in th

Black Sea
Peev, P.
Institute of Oceanology, Department of Marine Geology and Archaeology, Varna, Bulgaria, peev@io-
bas.bg
Keyword...: Hellenic polis, harbors, artificial quays, reefs
Introduction
In antiquity, especially after the Hellen ic colonization, the port system along the West Pontic coasts
expanded. During this perioo, the first harbor facilities began to be built along the western Black Sea
coast, which brought new architectural fonns to the coastal cities. On the Bulgarian Black Sea coast, a
series of sunken ancient harbor facililies are known (Karantinata, at Cape Galata, Sozopol) and parts of
the residential quarters of the Hellenic poleis (Bizone, Messambria). [n some places, such port facilities
used natural reefs (Shabla, Cherni Nos, S1. Atanas, etc.). In the mid 2nd millennium BC, the Phanagorian
regression began and lasted until Late AntiqUity. This significant decrease in the Black Sea level should
be assigned to the 5th to 3rd centuries BC. Accord ing to different authors and interpretation of the facts,
the maximum ranges were between - 2/-3 m until - II m below present sea level.
In the area of Cape Shabla, three sites are known that are very important for archaeology as well as for
paleogeography: the sunken prehistoric necropolis situated to the north of Shabla, the reef of Caron
Limen, and the reef of Lake Shablenska tuzla (Peev, 2008). Both reefs have a depth of 4 m b.p.l., and
they had protected bays that do not ex ist tooay. The sites have yielded much varied archaeological
material.
Bizone. Until now, sure signs of an artificial harbor in the aquatic environment of Bizone have not been
detected (Toncheva, 1970). Dimitrov and Orachev (1982) describe the harbor as the polis of nature.
There is evidence for the existence of an artificial structure in the eastern part of the Gu lf of Kavarna at a
depth of 3 m. During an undenvater archaeological expedition in 2005, traces of buildings were found at
depths up to 3.5 m.
Gulf of Varna. In the Gulf of Varna, four ancient ports are known, and two of them have a harbor
structure: Karantinata (Toncheva, 1964) and Galata.
Karantinata. At the time of the undenvater archaeOlogical investigations of the early I960s, the
existence of a submerged antique harbor construction was ascertained. It is present as a perpendicular
coastal jeny and has a length of 250 m. It was built from medium size broken stones without mortar
which are paneled with bigger oval stones. The highest parts of the constructions are at a depth of 2.5 m
b.p.1. During the undenvater archaeological investigat ions, pouery was found from the Hellenistic Period
(3rd c. BC) until the Late Medieval Ages, together with millstones and anchors.
Galata. The other undenvater quay is known at the area of the lighthouse. The first archaeological
materials from the area (anchors and amphorae) were found in 1962. In the same year, an underwater
wall was found close to the jetty of the Varna-Galata ferryboat line. Most probably, this construction
belonged to the ancient Thracian settlement of Karabizia. The construction contains large broken stones
having the same shape as those at Karantinata. The highest parts of the site are at a depth of 3.5 m b.p.1.
Varied pottery and stone and wooden anchors have been found.
Cape Cherni Nos (Black Cape). In front of the cape, there is a natural extension of land, which is a
chain of boulders and rocks. The direction of the reef is west-east, and the total length is 400 m. The
minimum depths all along the reef vary between I and 6.6 m. In antiquity, during the Phanagorian
regression when the Black Sea level was 5 m below present, the most projecting parts of the site were
above water. Thus, a natural extension ofChemi Nos circumscribed a protected aquatic area where small
vessels were able to find refuge. In 1967, 1968, and 2010, underwater archaeological
investigations were conducted on the reef south of Chemi Nos focusing on the reef and the
amphorae pile. The origin of the amphorae is the coast of modem Tunisia (more accurately,

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 INQUA 501- rGCP 521 Sixth Plenary Meeting and Field Trip, RhodL"S. GreL'Cc. 27 Scptember- 5 October 2010

Carthage), and they are dated to the end of the 4th c. AD until the middle of the 5th c. AD. The
amphorae are defined in the literature as spatheion.
Sv. Atanas. The reef east of Cape St. Atanas has a length of 400 m and a depth between 2 and
4.5 m. According to archaeological material found in the aquatory of ancient Visa, the bay
protected by the reef was used from the Early Iron Age until Medieval times.
Mesambria. Ruins of the ancient fortifications are located between the sixth isohypse along the
southwestem slope of the peninsula and the sea bottom to the fourth isobath along the southeastern slope
(Preshlenov, 2008). In underwater surveys, sunken parts of the ancient city (up to the 6th c. AD) are
registered al depths of 5 m. In the northwestern part of the peninsula. a Late Antique wall has been traced
80 m in a northerly direction.
Appolonia. The ancient Appolonia (present Sozopol) has two artificial quays. The height of the surface
facilities at the bottom to the top of the base is 1.5 to 6.5 m and a depth of 1.5 to 3.5 m (Dimitrov et aI.,
1982). They certainly were above water and served as piers because of their width between 10 and 20 m.
From this infonnation, it can be inferred that along the Bulgarian Black Sea coast in antiquity, sea level
was about 4-5 m lower than today. Almost all the bays where archaeological finds exist in the water
today were not suited for the mooring of vessels. At the lower level of the sea, however, there are
beautiful coves protected by underwater reefs. Future underwater archaeological research will inevitably
enrich the archaeological map of the west coast with new sites.
References
Dimitrov, B., and Omchev, A. 1982. Pristanishtnata sistema po Zapadnopontiiskoto kraibrezhie, Arkheologiia 1:
1- 10. (In Bulgarian)
Dimitrov, B., Porozhanov, K. , and Orachev, A. 1982. Pristanishtata na Apoloniya i Mesambriya [The Harbors of
Apollonia and Mesambria]. In Trakiiski pametnitzi. 3. Megalilile v Trakiya [Thracian Mon1lments. J.
The Megaliths in Thrace], Fol, A., cd., pp. 438-458. (In Bulgarian)
Ognenova-Marinova, L. 1975. Podvodni prouchvania v nesebar. Vekove 3:43-48.
Peev, P. 2008. Underwater sites in the area of Cape Shabla (Nonh-East Bulgaria). In Geoarchaeology and
Archaeom inemlogy. Proceedings of the Imemational Conference (29-30 October. Sofia), Kostov, R.I.,
Gaydarska, B., and Gurova, M. cds, pp. 303- 304. Publishing House "SI. Ivan Rilski", Sofia.
Preshlenov, Hr. 2008. Morphodynamics of the coastal zone of the Nesebar peninsula (Bulgaria): archaeological
and geological benchmarks. In Geoarchaeology and Archaeominemlogy. Proceedings of Ihe
Imernaliona/ Conference (29·30 October. Sofia), Kostov, R.I., Gaydarska, B., and Gurova, M. eds, pp.
305- 307. Publi shing House "SI. Ivan Rilski", Sofia.
Toncheva, G. 1964. POll/nali prLS1anishla di Varna. Durzhavno lzd·vo, Varna. (In Bulgarian)
Toncheva, G. 1970. Podvodni prouchvania po zapadnoto chernomorsko kraibrezhie. Podvoden svial 6: 10-15. (In
Bulgarian)

168
 INQUA 501- IGCI' 52 J Sixth Plenary Meeting and Field Trip, Rhodes, Greece, 27 September - 5 October 2010

Paleoclimatic data from the western Black Sea region and solar
luminosity from the Last Glacial period to the Early Holocene
Slavova, K. R.
Institute of Oceanology - BAS , P.O. Box 152, Varna, Bulgaria, sfavova@io-bas.bg
Keywords: Black Sea, climatic cycles, solar luminosity, reddish-brown clay layers
Introduction
Isolation of the Black Sea from the Global Ocean led to the establishment of specific conditions within
the Black Sea. The Black Sea level fluctuations were nOI synchronous with those of global sea level
during the LGM-Wuml III and postglacial periods. The deposited Black Sea sediments are va luable
archives for the study of past climate changes. On a nine-day expedition during June of 2009 on the RIV
Akademik, a Bulgarian research vessel, we had the opportunity to map and core, taking samples for
dating on the submerged shorelines of the Black Sea off the coast of Bulgaria. During the cruise, 22
cores were recovered.
Materials and Methods

On board the R/V Akademik, we had two different gravity cores and a vibracorer. To obtain cores 9, 10,
16, and 18, we used a 12 cm coring device. The device had a 100 kg head on the end of a 4-meter metal
tube 12 cm in diameter. The recovered sedi ment was cut on board and carried to the core lab in I-meier
sections. The sections were then cut open and observed. Unfortunately, we have no full dates yet.
Because of that, in this paper, we use only lithological descriptions of the above-mentioned cores. The
methods of spore-pollen, dinoflagellate cyst, and molluscan faunal analysis were employed from
differenl authors to reconstruci the cl imalic changes in the continental and marine environments o f the
Black Sea region. A luminescent solar insolation proxy record in a speleothem from Duhlata Cave,
Bulgaria, was also obtained (Shopov et aI., 2001).
Essence of the problem
A few conclusions can be drawn from our expedition. One of them is that a series of reddish-brown clay
layers was discovered in cores 9,10,16, and 18. The occurrence of the red layers may be linked to high
latitude climate variations. Bahr et al. (2005) have correlated the brown-red intervals to periods of
wanner conditions recorded at the beginning of the postglacial isotope record of the GRIP ice core from
Greenland. Stoykova et al. (2008) used speleothem luminescence proxy records to study real variations
of past insolation. They ascertained that solar luminosity and orbital variations both cause variations in
solar insolation affecting the climate by the same mechanism. In this paper, it is considered that the
isolated Black Sea lake reacted very sensitively to c1imale forcing. In particular, the Black Sea reacted to
the solar insolat ion resulting from variations in solar luminosity.
Cores AKAD09-9, 10, and 16 from the Black Sea contain the lithologic units described by Ross and
Degens (1974) in cores from the deep basin. Core 18 reveals the absence of Unit I. The uppennost unit
(Uni t I) is a coccolith, light olive-gray, organic-rich, and finely-laminated ooze. Unit 2 is a dark olive-
gray sapropel. Both rcpresent deposition in the oxygen-dcpleted conditions of the semi-marine basin.
The lowest unit (Unit 3) shows variation in color from dark green to light gray to reddish brown and
represents sedimentation in the pre-anoxic basin. Below that is an interval of light gray clay commonly
streaked with black sulfides. Below this are homogeneous gray clays, which are interrupted by 2
imcrvals of brown clay in cores 16 and 18 and I interval of brown clay in core 10. The occurrence of the
reddish-brown layers in Black Sea cores may be linked to high latitute climate variations. The red layers
and the accompanying increase in terrigenous components correspond to periods of slightly increased
0 180 (reflecting wanner conditions) during the GS-2 (Greenland Stadial 2) as recorded in the GRIP ice-
core record (Bahr et aI., 2005). This regional improvement in climate coincides with a solar luminosity
measured from a luminescem solar insolalion proxy record in a speleothem from Duhlata Cave,
Bulgaria, and with augmentation of solar luminosity for the above-mentioned period. Most likely this is
the reason for the MWP IA.

200
 INQVA 501· IGel' 521 Sixth Plenary Mccting and Field Trip, Rhodes, Greece, 21 September - 5 October 2010

The Pleistocene/Holocene boundary for the Black Sea region is fixed by pollen analysis at - 11 , 160 cal
BP (10,035+/--65 14C BP), The climatic improvement for the Black Sea region continued, On the other
hand, solar luminOSity during this period shows a very high value. The Ca-peak C2 in core GeoB 7608-1
(Bahr et aI., 2(05) corresponds to a high value of solar luminosity during the period 12,000-9000 years
BP (Fig. 3). Many authors described dry climatic conditions in the Black Sea region until 8000 cal BP. In
the Black Sea cores, large percentages of herbs and steppe elements are described. In addil ion 10 these
cycles, palyno logical studies conducted on BlaSON cores (Popescu et al., 2004) show that during the
Younger Dryas and second mini ice age, a cooler and drier climate prevailed. A mini glacial period, the
Younger Dryas is dated 1012,500-11 ,800 cal BP in Europe. This coolness is even readi ly di scernible in
the luminescent solar insolation proxy record. As a result of th is event, the water supply to the Black Sea
from the melting of the ice sheets in Europe decreased. Bctween 8740 and 8 160 cal BP, the remnant
Laurentide Ice Sheet collapsed, resulting in the largest single North Atlantic freshwater pulse of the past
100,000 years, raising global sea levels by up to 1.4 m and culminating in hemispheric cooling (Tumey
and Brown, 2007).
Conclusions
Finally, Ihe Duhlala Cave proxy record shows unequivocal evidence for a rapid and sensiti ve ecosystem
response in Bulgaria to climatic changes, and thus it bears important climalic infonnation for the Black
Sea area, which will be an important source for furth er investigations
in this region. It demonstrates (Stoykova et aI., 2008) that during the last 60,000 years, the intensity of
solar irradiance variations prevailed over the orbital variations in solar insolation. Actually, the
establi shed luminescent solar insolat ion proxy record in thc speleothem from Duhlata Cave can explain
the fluctuations of the Black Sea level after the Last Glacial Max imum .
Acknowledgments
Thi s study was financially supported by Project 0002-33712008, National Science Fund, Bulgarian
Ministry of Science and Education.
References
Bahr, A., Lamy, F., An, H., Kuhlmann, H., and Wefer, G. 2005. Late glacial to Holocene climate and
sedimentation history in the NW Black Sea. Marine Geology 214: 309- 322.
Popescu, 1., Lericolais, G., Pani n, N., Nonnand, A., Dinu, C., and Le Drezen, E. 2004. The Danube submarine
canyon ( Black Sea): morphology and sedimentary processes. Marine Geology 206(1-4): 249- 265.
Ross, D.A. , and Degens, E.T. 1974. Recent sediments of the Black Sea. In The Black Sea- Geology, Chemistry,
and Biology, Degens, E.T., and Ross, D.A , eds, pp. 183- 199, Memoir 20, American Association of
Petroleum Geologists, Tulsa.
Shopov, Y., Stoykova, D. , Tsankov, L. Sanabria, M., Georgieva, D., Ford, D., Lundberg, J., Georgiev, L., and
Forti, P. 2001. Intensity of prolonged solar luminosity cycles and their influcnce ovcr past climates and
geomagnetic fie ld. Proceedingl' of the Xlllth UIS Congress. Brazil. pp. 216- 218.
Stoykova, D.A., Shopov, Y.Y., Garbeva, D., Tsankov, L.T, and Yonge. C.J. 2008. Origin of the climatic cycles
from orbi tal to sub-annual scales. Journal ofAtmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics 70: 293- 302.
Tumey, C.s.M., and Brown, H. 2007. Catastrophic early Holocene sea level rise, human migration and the
Neolithic transition in Europe. Quaternary Science Reviews 26: 2036-204 1.

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